


The more the merrier

by StrangeNoise



Series: Farmerverse [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Asexual Nines, Becoming Parents, Chicken breeding, Chickens, Established Relationship, Found Family, Gardening, Gavin is a disaster as always, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, Longing, M/M, of sorts...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:35:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23264815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrangeNoise/pseuds/StrangeNoise
Summary: Nines has bought an incubator to hatch more chickens for his coop. But before the chickens are due to hatch, he promised to visit his brother, Connor for the weekend. Gavin obviously offers to look after the eggs because there's no way the chicks are going to hatch while Nines is gone, right?Sequel to "Building a home, finding a family" and "Closer to you"
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: Farmerverse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1596130
Comments: 1
Kudos: 55





	The more the merrier

It’s early spring when Gavin watches Nines bring several large boxes into his home from where he is busy in his own backyard. The first weeks where it’s not too cold to work in the garden and the snow has melted are always exhausting for the human. As for the past years, Gavin has taken an entire week off to take care of his backyard – and it’s much needed. It’s Thursday now and ever since the previous Saturday Gavin has been busy weeding his backyard, cutting bushes and trees that could interfere with the growth of his vegetables and driving to and from the hardware store with all sorts of supplies from soil to wooden boards to seeds. 

And while it’s exhausting, Gavin still loves these weeks in early spring in which he can take care of his backyard and the plants there to his heart’s content. The only complaint he has right now is that he hasn’t seen Nines for more than about two hours in the past three weeks. They talked about this and agreed not to get upset with each other if they didn’t see the other a lot while Gavin was busy in the garden but, as it turns out, that’s easier said than done. Gavin misses Nines terribly. It seems ridiculous that they’re barely seeing each other, given they are neighbors, but for the past weeks they have mostly just seen each other when Nines feeds the chickens in the morning or that one time he surprised Gavin with an impromptu picnic in the garden.

Gavin can tell that Nines is trying not to get too upset with him but these days he fails sometimes – and the human can’t blame him. He’s been tired and awfully distant for a while now and while he knows that Nines is trying to be understanding, Gavin can also see that everyone has a limit and Nines is pretty close to reaching his. 

But that’s where Gavin’s secret surprise plan comes in. He’s been pushing himself to work from dusk ‘til dawn during his week off and it seems that, as planned, he’ll be done tending to the backyard by tomorrow afternoon. That leaves an entire weekend he can spend with Nines. A smile spreads on Gavin’s face at the thought even as he fights a particularly stubborn root that refuses to let itself be torn out. Gavin’s going to surprise Nines with a nice breakfast together and then a day spent in bed before they go out and do something fancy that Gavin hasn’t entirely planned yet on Sunday. The idea alone has Gavin longing for it to be Saturday already. 

As if he has somehow felt what Gavin was thinking about, Nines steps out into the backyard and comes closer to the fence that separates them.

“Your garden looks great”, he tells Gavin with a tired but proud smile. Gavin smiles right back at him, drops his spade and walks over to the fence to pull Nines in for a kiss. It might be stupid and impulsive, but Gavin swears it’s been days since he kissed Nines and he misses that more than anything. If the way Nines melts into the kiss with a sigh is anything to go by, the android feels the same. When they eventually break apart, the tiredness is wiped from Nines’ face and he looks happy instead.

“I’m here to ask you a favor”, he says then, always cutting right to the chase, “I’m sure you saw those boxes that were delivered to me earlier.”

“Sure did”, Gavin confirms, “Did you finally order that suit I keep bothering you to get?” A smirk spreads on Gavin’s face at the sight of Nines rolling his eyes. They had been looking through some clothes together online about two months back since Nines’ brother, Connor, was going to get married in summer and Nines needed a suit. Gavin kept pestering Nines about a certain one that would fit so tightly on the android it would be considered more than indecent for a wedding. Nines rolled his eyes at Gavin then and he does it again now.

“I’m sorry to disappoint but it’s not that”, he says nonchalantly as ever, before turning more serious again, “I ordered an incubator a while back and it was delivered today. I am going to add some more chickens to _the squad_ .” Nines says it in that weird way of his he always uses when employing slang he doesn’t quite understand. Sometime around Christmas Gavin started referring to Nines’ chickens as _the squad_. At first, Nines had been beyond irritated, but it seems that by now he’s accepted the nickname – even if he still doesn’t seem to understand it entirely.

“Sweet”, Gavin comments with a smirk, “If you’d told me you’re going to be a dad, I would’ve gotten you something to celebrate.” 

“If the chickens are my children, then they’re yours too”, Nines says softly, “You’re my partner after all.” 

Gavin feels himself blush. It’s not like Nines is his first long-term relationship but it’s the first, where he can be open about his feelings without fear of rejection or ridicule. It makes him feel like he’s much closer to Nines than he’s been with any previous partner and he absolutely loves it. Still, learning that Nines considers him as much as a “parent” of his chickens as himself seems like another level of intimacy and understanding that threatens to overwhelm Gavin. He smiles crookedly while Nines leans over the fence and presses a quick peck to his cheek.

“So, when are the babies due, then?”, Gavin asks to break the silence. Nines’ expression changes. 

“I was going to get them tomorrow. Since I work a lot these days, I was going to purchase eggs that are already far along so they would hopefully hatch on the weekend or Monday at the latest. But now Connor invited me over for the weekend”, Nines explains and Gavin’s heart sinks, “So I’ll have to get them towards the end of next week.”

Gavin nods and tries not to let his disappointment be too obvious. Sure, he could always claim it was because of the chickens but he doubts Nines would believe him. It’s just not fair. He’s been slaving away for days now so he can have the weekend off and spend it with Nines and now Nines isn’t even going to be here. And it’s not like Gavin can really blame him. How was Nines supposed to know what he was planning for him after all? It’s only logical that Nines assumed Gavin would be busy during the weekend and agreeing to visit Connor instead of taking yet another weekend shift at the grocery store. 

“The only problem is I promised the breeder I’d get them tomorrow so if I don’t, he’s going to give them to someone else”, Nines continues, looking seriously upset, “I really wanted those chickens. They have those beautiful black and white spotted feathers…”

“You can still get them”, Gavin says without thinking, “I should be done here by tomorrow so I can spend the weekend looking after those eggs. And you’ll be back Sunday night, right? What are the odds they’re going to hatch before then?” Nines’ face lights up for a moment, then falls again.

“If I had known you would be free this weekend, I wouldn’t have agreed to spend the weekend with Connor and Hank”, he sighs, looking troubled, “It would have been the perfect opportunity to spend some time together.”

“It’s okay. I could have told you”, Gavin says and waves it off as if it isn’t as much of a deal as it truly is, “Just spend some quality time with your bro and his fiancé and I’ll look after those eggs for you. We can find another weekend to spend time with each other. Tina’s friends with the boss. I’m sure she can get him to switch around some shifts for me.” Nines considers the offer for several long seconds, then sighs and nods. 

“But only because it would be more trouble to take everything back now and upend my plans”, he sighs, then allows a tentative smile to spread on his face, “Thank you, Gavin. Those chickens mean a lot to me and I can’t thank you enough for looking after them – even if they’re still in egg form.”

“Everything for _the squad_ ”, Gavin says with a mock-salute, “And for you, of course.” Nines smiles and leans in for another gentle kiss. Gavin can’t believe this isn’t what he’s going to spend his entire weekend doing. 

“You know what?”, Nines says when they break apart again, “To thank you for looking after the eggs, I’ll let you name the chicks once they hatch. Of course, you’d have to stick to my naming scheme…”

“Oh boy, I better do some research then”, Gavin comments with a laugh. He loves Nines’ idea of naming his chickens after important women from history but, shamefully, he has to admit that isn’t a topic he knows much about. It’s nothing that can’t be remedied, though, and if the reward is getting to name Nines’ new chickens, Gavin’s going to spend his weekend doing research.

They spend a little while longer chatting back and forth across the fence and exchanging the occasional kiss. It’s hardly more than 20 minutes but when he goes back to work afterward, Gavin feels warm and strangely recharged. He immediately texts Tina to help him get the next weekend off and whistles to himself as he finishes up his work for the day. 

By Friday afternoon Gavin is done with his backyard. He’s ridiculously tired but proud of his work. The flowers and vegetables should grow just as nicely as last year. He hasn’t been done for more than half an hour when Nines knocks on his door and invites him over to explain the details of egg-watching to him. 

As it turns out, as long as the eggs don’t hatch, Gavin’s going to have a pretty relaxed weekend. If they hatch, however, it might become decidedly more stressful. But the chances of that happening are low, Nines explains as he hands Gavin a list of things to remember. They make out on the couch for a while before Nines has to leave for dinner with Connor and Hank. 

Gavin walks over to the incubator in the kitchen and eyes the eggs in it for a while. They look innocent enough and he really hopes they don’t cause him any trouble. On a whim, he decides to stuff some of his belongings into a duffel bag and spend the entire weekend at Nines’ place. It feels weird to be there without him but once Gavin climbs into the bed that smells faintly like the android, he knows he’s made the right choice. The moment his head hits the pillow and the familiar scent fills Gavin’s nostrils, he’s out like a light. 

Gavin doesn’t wake until late Saturday morning. He gets dressed, feeds the chickens and helps himself to some eggs from Nines’ fridge. The only reason the android keeps them there anyway is if they’re having breakfast together. Gavin loves those eggs and when he finds a bell pepper in the fridge too, he’s ecstatic. Nines seems to have figured that Gavin would spend some time at his place while he’s gone if the fact how well-stocked the fridge is, is anything to go by. Humming to himself, Gavin makes himself scrambled eggs with bell pepper and some toast with his favorite raspberry jam.

It’s almost noon by the time Gavin is done having breakfast. While he does the dishes, he looks at the incubator again. The eggs still look like they did the night before. Gavin takes a picture of them that he sends to Nines, telling him that the situation is under control. Nines sends back a heart emoji and Gavin grins down at his phone for entirely too long. Looking at the eggs again, he remembers his task for today and retreats to the couch to research famous women of history.

Most of the day is spent doing that or alternatively playing some racing game on his switch that Gavin brought along. Around dinnertime he makes a short trip to his own home to feed Bob and Skittles, who act like Gavin’s absence hasn’t affected them at all while still running up to him and the food bowl in record time. 

When he returns to Nines’ place, Gavin casts a quick glance at the eggs before starting to make dinner and stops in his tracks. Pressing his face to the glass of the incubator, Gavin tries to figure out if his eyes have only been tricking him or if there’s really a tiny crack in one of the eggs. And there really is. Then, the egg in the middle twitches.

“Son of a bitch”, Gavin mutters, “So much for a relaxing weekend.” He feels the anxiety rising and considers calling Nines for a moment. In the end, Gavin decides against it, though. Nines deserves some time with his brother without Gavin interrupting that. And, who knows, it could take until well into Sunday for the chicks to actually hatch. So there’s really no need for Gavin to make Nines nervous. 

That doesn’t mean Gavin himself isn’t on edge, though. He prepares himself some chicken breast with pasta and some more vegetables from Nines’ fridge and almost cuts his own finger twice because he can’t stop staring at the incubator. The crack doesn’t seem much bigger after dinner but there are now cracks on the second and third egg too. All three eggs are shaking slightly. Gavin thinks he hears some chirping too, but it’s so faint he eventually decides he must be imagining things. 

“Relax, ladies”, Gavin growls, pointing his finger at the incubator threateningly, “You stay in there until Nines comes back or I’m gonna be fucking pissed.”

Despite the threat, Gavin is nervous. He reads and re-reads the instructions Nines left him and finds himself back in front of the incubator every fifteen minutes. The brunet stays up until it’s almost midnight, watching the cracks grow slightly by the hour before he decides he needs some sleep. But even that doesn’t really work. He wakes up almost every hour and gets up to look at the eggs. When he sees a tiny hole and a bit of beak poking out of it around 4am, Gavin figures that he isn’t going to get any more sleeping done anyway and sits down on a chair in front of the incubator. 

He’s pretty sure he dozes off once or twice because for the most time nothing really happens but whenever Gavin closes his eyes for a little too long, the holes in the eggshells have grown considerably. Now he also hears the cheeping clear as day. It’s soft and high-pitched but it’s definitely there. So Gavin stays on his post, watching the eggs wriggle about and the holes in them growing bigger and bigger.

By the time he makes himself some toast for breakfast, it’s 11am and the first chicken is almost fully out of its shell. Gavin can’t believe he’s been sitting here, staring at eggs for over seven hours now. 

“The things I do for you”, he mutters towards the hatching chicks while having his meager breakfast. When he gets up shortly after to go to the bathroom, Gavin catches a glance of himself in the mirror and decides he desperately needs a shower. It isn’t going to do much about the rings under his eyes but maybe he’ll look less pale and his hair less matte. He’s not sure he should leave the chicks alone right now, but they seem to be doing okay and what could happen while he’s gone for 15 minutes, right? 

So, of course, by the time Gavin returns from the bathroom, there’s a full-fledged baby chicken rolling about the incubator outside of its eggshell. It’s wet and the dark feathers are clumped together. It looks tiny and miserable and Gavin hopes it’s actually going to turn into the beautiful chicken Nines wants someday. The chick tries to get on its tiny feet but falls over again and again. Gavin would probably laugh if he wasn’t so excited and also a little worried. He watches the tiny bird for almost half an hour before he suddenly remembers he has to text Nines. He takes a quick picture of the baby chicken and its siblings still trying to break free from the shells and sends it to Nines.

 _“I’ll be home in an hour”_ , the android answers after not even two minutes. Gavin laughs at that, then goes back to watching the chickens hatch. 

By the time Nines actually comes home, almost two more hours have passed and all three chicks are now rolling and falling about in the incubator. The first one to hatch has a pretty solid grip on how this walking thing works by now and its feathers are well on their way to drying. 

“I missed it!”, Nines exclaims, startling Gavin, who had been intensely staring at the small birds. The android grabs a chair and immediately joins Gavin to look at the tiny beings tumbling around the incubator. His LED is blinking yellow like crazy at his temple and he’s more excited than Gavin has ever seen him. It’s adorable and Gavin can’t resist and presses a gentle kiss to Nines’ cheek.

“Welcome home”, he says softly and takes one of Nines’ hands in his.

“I’m glad I’m here now”, Nines answers with a smile, “Thank you so much for looking after the eggs for me.” The android finally takes his eyes off the chickens for a moment. He leans in and kisses Gavin softly, pouring all of his gratitude into the kiss. Gavin sinks into it, reveling in being close to Nines again for once. It’s still early in the afternoon and they will get to spend the rest of the day together. Granted, it will probably involve looking at the chicks more than anything else but Gavin couldn’t care less.

“So, what are their names?”, Nines asks after a while, looking even more excited now if that is even possible. Gavin smirks. 

“Okay, so, the one on the left is Lena Horne, the one on the right is Sally Ride and the one in the middle is my favorite. Her name’s Calamity Jane”, Gavin explains and he can’t help but laugh at the way Nines rolls his eyes at the mention of the last name. The android himself had mostly chosen the names of empresses and women of science for his chickens and while that was still true for Sally Ride, Lena Horne was an entertainer and Calamity Jane was simply someone Gavin thought was cool.

“I feel like I should have expected this”, Nines comments with an exasperated smile, “But I like the names. Now there are chickens that are obviously yours too.” 

“God, you’re so sappy about those bids. I love it”, Gavin comments, feeling fondness bubbling up inside of him. 

“I love you”, Nines replies and leans in for another kiss. Gavin sighs into that one and wishes this could be all they do today.

As it turns out, kissing is actually a big part of what they do that day. As Nines explains, they have to wait until the chicks are dried before they can transfer them to their small in-home enclosure. Nines has already set that up earlier. It’s mainly just a carton filled with sawdust placed on top of some form of heating pad to keep the small birds warm.

Gavin is busy preparing dinner when Nines begins carefully transferring the chickens to their enclosure. Gavin had offered to help but Nines said that since he could regulate his body temperature, it would be easier for him to transport the chicks without disturbing their temperature too much. So, the human continues cooking while the android carefully carries one chick after the other into the living room. When his dinner is done, Gavin joins Nines on the couch in the living room, where they watch the chickens tumble about while Gavin has dinner and Nines sips on a thirium pouch. A constant cheeping from the carton fills the room and Gavin has never felt more comfortable and at home before in his life. 

Once they’re both done eating, they watch the chickens some more. Gavin tells Nines all about how they hatched, and Nines tells Gavin about Connor’s and Hank’s wedding plans. It’s a relaxed evening, their conversation only interrupted by the occasional kiss or a moment of cooing at the chicks together. 

By ten, Nines suddenly gets up and outstretches his hand to Gavin to help him up off the couch too.

“I think it’s time for bed”, Nines says, his voice lower than before, “I think you deserve another reward for watching over the eggs so well.” 

“Can’t say no to that”, Gavin replies with a smirk and lets himself be dragged out of the room and towards the bedroom. Already he can’t wait to look after the chickens again the next day but right now, something he’s waited far longer for awaits him and he’ll leave everything behind for that. Finally, he gets to be close to Nines again like he’s been wanting to all these weeks. Gavin didn’t know one could long for each other so much even when technically being so close. But now he does and when Nines pushes him down onto the bed, he vows to himself never to let it get this far again.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed! I feel like we all deserve some happiness and baby chickens these days! Stay safe, you guys!  
> Comments and kudos are much appreciated. You can also come say hi on twitter @NoiseStrangest !


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